5 yen

As a token of friendship, a friend gave us each a 5-yen coin at the end of our last meeting.

He said, in Japanese culture, the shape of the coin that has a hole inside that symbolises a full circle, while the word “en” (円) is the homophone of another word meaning serendipity and connections (縁).

On our subsequent meeting, he revealed more of the story: that in fact the coin was passed down to him from another friend as a token of friendship.

I appreciate this object so rich in meaning, and how it is steeped in culture. More so, I am grateful for our friendship.